Why can't humans do it too?

His numerous wrinkles made him appear much older, but his face was somewhat youthful, as if he had lost a great deal of vitality. Even among orcs, Sur judged him to be a veteran.

The bared canines seemed poised to gnaw through Suer's fragile neck at any moment. He could barely breathe, every muscle in his body was spasming—a biological instinct to suppress its own, the most primal reaction to deadly danger.

Suer desperately wanted to defend himself, to prove that he wasn't lying. He even had a long, logical string of words forming in his mind, but in the end, he said nothing, as if his body no longer obeyed his commands.

It’s over.

Suer closed his eyes.

However, the pain was delayed. The suddenly erupting orc did not bite through Sul's throat or tear him in two. He simply returned to his calm state. This time, without his mask, Sul could clearly observe his every expression.

"Are you denying me... no, you should be denying us?" The white-haired orc took a half-step back to create enough space before reaching out and tearing off the mask covering Sul's face.

What else are you hiding?

Chapter Nine: Yearning

……negative?

Am I... denying them?

To deny the existence of this invincible orc race, which is like a demon god?

Suer's blank mind even felt a little amused—had this white-haired orc gone mad? Where did he get such a judgment from?

"That's not right, is it?" Before Suer could refute, the wolf-like orc continued, "Or haven't you noticed it yourself? That kind of arrogance in its bones... what kind of person, or what kind of race, gave the monkey such confidence?"

The white-furred orc continued to scrutinize the motionless Sul from head to toe, its two white wolf ears twitching occasionally. Sul, however, had no idea what this creature, who could tear apart such a fragile prey with a mere flick of its wrist, was waiting for.

What was he saying?

So what if it's death? Bring it on! Huh?!

Suer is ready.

Looking at the orc with his brows furrowed as if he were pondering something dangerous, Suer felt a mixture of amusement and doubt.

'Saying I'm negating him or something, isn't that giving me a bit too much credit? And saying I'm negating the entire orc race?'

Even as the chill of fear seeped into his entire body, Suer couldn't help but want to burst out laughing.

however,

"—You're wrong. I don't think too highly of you. I'm just curious about what exactly is keeping you monkeys in captivity these days."

Before the mockery that had been lingering in Suer's heart had faded, a faint voice sounded in his ear, freezing all his thoughts and even twisting the slight upturn of his lips.

'My thoughts...were read?'

“Yes, I’ve seen through it completely,” the hideous face reappeared before Suer. “For lowly beasts like you, this is probably an ability that belongs only to the superior races, something you would never even dream of.”

With a sinister smile that exuded oppressive power, the white-haired werewolf said with an evil grin, "It's exactly what you're thinking right now. I've seen through all your thoughts."

A declaration sufficient to end all final struggles.

"..."

The air fell silent for a moment, with only the howling wind remaining. The orc also remained considerately quiet, seemingly enjoying the despair that Suer was experiencing.

'Reading...minds?'

Hey.

Hey Hey hey?

Isn't this a bit too much? They've even developed the ability to read minds?

Surprisingly, Suer felt inexplicably relaxed at this moment, and even murmured to himself with a relaxed feeling he hadn't had in a long time—"Liku, your intelligence report is probably going to lose an intelligence report that may never be recorded again, huh?"

It's like a dream.

But deep down, I believed it.

Compared to those who can reshape the earth with their breath, carve insurmountable chasms on the ground with a wave of their hand, and shatter stars in the sky with a mere burst of energy... mind reading is nothing more than a child's toy.

and so--

"Ha, that's really unfair..."

With a long sigh of relief, Suer suddenly muttered to himself with a sense of relief.

The strength that had sustained him gradually returned to his body, and he could no longer feel even the most primal pressure on his life. He clenched his fists.

bass!

It still reflected a blinding cold light under the red glow in the sky. That was Su'er's last strength and his last hope, but the target it was aimed at was not the unshakable mountain in front of him—but himself.

Even just the belly would be fine.

Let it be cut open.

Please be sure to...

This is the only prayer I've offered since three years ago.

However, the mere distance between his hand hanging by his leg and his lower abdomen became an insurmountable chasm. Even a second before Su Er suddenly swung his hand, a hand as hard as an iron tower had already gripped his arm.

Not moving.

Just as this wolf-like orc claimed, he saw through all of Sul's plans and extinguished this final struggle before it even happened.

Not only that, this orc even threw away his longsword with his other hand, and gripped Sul's jawbone tightly with a pincer-like motion, stopping the jaw from biting down on his tongue.

It's all over.

All of Suer's struggles, all his plans, all his delusions.

By using the pain of having his abdomen slashed open and his tongue bitten off to confuse his mind, he completely thwarted his plan to prevent the orc in front of him from discovering the secrets hidden in his heart.

"Ughhhhhhh!!!"

It roared desperately, even though all that could be heard emanating from its constricted skull was a distorted wail, even though it still had one hand and one foot that could move... so what?

Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!

With all his might, Suer furiously pounded on the orc's iron armor and exposed face, his fists, knees, and legs producing dull thuds. Even his arms were slashed by the spikes on the shoulder armor. Every punch hit its target, every knee struck the orc's body—but it didn't budge.

There wasn't even the slightest sway that would occur from a blow; the white-haired orc stood there as firm as an iron tower.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... Suer could feel his strength waning, but he showed no sign of stopping.

Are you angry? Are you furious? The rage that burns on your face from being hit in the face by a monkey you despise.

Bang!

Kohl, who works hard to maintain the livelihood of everyone in the settlement; Riku, who coldly forces himself to lead everyone forward; Nona, who smiles sweetly at him; the settlement where everyone lives together; Lennie, Credo, Ivan…

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

As if the power squeezed from the depths of every cell was gathering and surging along his already exhausted limbs, Suer roared and slammed his fist into the hateful wolf's face.

Bang!

Did you feel humiliated? Were you angry?

Bang!

Then hurry up and come!

Bang!

Come and kill me!

Bang! ! !

"..."

"..."

His arm fell limply to his side.

He remained silent, enduring Suer's seemingly ticklish attacks. The only sound in the air was his heavy, breathless breathing, as if he were being restrained.

"...You seem to have some interesting plans...monkey."

The sound was cruel, like a constant sawing of a throat. After a long silence, the white-haired orc finally opened his mouth once more.

Chapter Ten: Reignition

In the one-sided struggle just now, the hand that had been locking Sul's skull like five steel nails finally moved, turning Sul's face towards the orcs.

"Thinking about it carefully, monkey, I seem to recognize your face." Completely unaffected by Sul's plan, the white-haired orc calmly and slowly examined Sul's face, even deliberately waving his hands from side to side to see more clearly, as if he were manipulating a stiff puppet, holding nothing more than a broken toy.

The hood that had been covering his head had been thrown off during the violent movements, and Sul's platinum blonde hair was now loose, revealing the scar that ran from his brow bone to his forehead. This made the orcs even more certain of what was going on.

“As expected, there shouldn’t be any mistake,” the white-haired orc said with increasing certainty, sniffing his nose. “We should have met three years ago, right? I also have some recollection of this scent… and this scar on your head should be the one Xiaoyu left back then.”

"Ah, that child complained to me for a long time back then," the orc said in a relaxed tone, as if recalling something heartwarming, but the orc's words had no warming effect on Sul's ears.

The wound, which had long since healed, should not have caused any pain, but at this moment it ached faintly as if it were real, as if taking Suer back to that nightmarish time three years ago, and to the sharp claws that scraped away a piece of his skin amidst a piercing scream.

Suer suffered from high fever and coma, and for months he could only see darkness. He even thought he was going to lose that eye forever.

His already heavy breathing suddenly became rapid, and this abrupt change in Suer could not escape the keen senses of the orcs.